I don't think it's out of the question to assume that most everyone has a
favorite fictional character. We like to see those characters either in a
familiar story (such as the one in which we discovered them) or perhaps a new
one which fits their personality/style. But, what if that character was plucked
up and dropped into a situation which was totally wrong for them? Would we be
able to accept this radical change? If Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
is any indication, the answer is no.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (ostensibly) takes place some time after
the events in

Ghost Rider.
Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) has traveled to Eastern Europe to try and outrun his
past, but he is still cursed -- when evil is afoot, he transforms into the
flame-headed Ghost Rider. Blaze is recruited by Moreau (Idris Elba) to help a
religious organization protect a young boy who is being threatened by a group of
baddies. In exchange, Moreau can arrange to have the demon separated from Blaze.
Blaze accepts and soon meets Danny (Fergus Riordan) and his mother, Nadya (Violante
Placido). And he also soon meets the men pursuing then -- Ray Carrigan (Johnny
Whitworth) and his employer, Roarke (Ciaran Hinds). These men and their lackies
have nefarious plans for Danny and, thanks to their own supernatural powers,
aren't going to let something like Ghost Rider stop them.

I've been fan of the Ghost Rider comics for decades and I was excited
when the character made the leap to the big screen in 2007. While that movie
wasn't perfect, it certainly had its moments and it did a great job of
portraying the Ghost Rider himself. The part allowed Cage to be his nutty best
and actually seemed to suit him. The movie was too much of an origin story and
must of the plot was muddled, but the action scenes looked good. I wasn't crazy
about the fact that they used Johnny Blaze, as I prefer the Dan Ketch Ghost
Rider, but beggars can't be choosers. Either way, Ghost Rider is a very
cinematic character and I looked forward to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
as well. Which brings us to the question: How did they screw this up so badly?
There are so many problems with this movie that I could literally just list them
as bullet-points, but I'll actually try to break them down in-depth.

First of all, we (the viewing public) assume that this is a sequel to 2007
Ghost Rider film. But, apparently, it isn't. Sure, it has the same actor
playing the same main character, but we are somehow supposed to know that it's
not linked to that first film. Of course, we sort of suspect that something
isn't quite right when the origin story for the Ghost Rider character is changed
here. Whereas Mephistopheles, played by Peter Fonda, was the Satan-like
character who made a deal with Johnny Blaze in the first film, here, it's Roarke
(although the circumstances are similar). Apparently, this Johnny Blaze didn't
go through the ordeals seen in the first film -- or at least if he did, he
doesn't mention the demons fought or his long-lost love. This all ties in to the
movie's screenplay, which was co-written by David S. Goyer. If that name sounds
familiar, it's because he co-wrote the Batman films with Christopher Nolan. But,
he's clearly not in his element here, as the story is very shallow and makes
little sense. As in the first film, the story takes bits from both the Johnny
Blaze and Dan Ketch Ghost Rider comics and creates a hybrid in which the
devil created a creature which hunts evil. Does that click? Also, we left with
questions such as, how come bullets slow down Ghost Rider, but a missile
doesn't? We also get the mistake of having a villain from the comics awkwardly
introduced into the narrative in a way which doesn't work at all.

Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor have been handed the reins for
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and they have no idea what they are doing.
For starters, they've changed the look of the character. The skull is no a dark
gray, instead of bone white. I assume that this was part of giving the movie a
"darker" look, but it negates the striking visual of the white skull engulfed in
flames...and shouldn't movies be about visuals? Or is that just me? And what's
with the black smoke coming off of his head? Is he burning oil? What happened to
Ghost Rider's motorcycle? Where's the bad-ass demon bike? Why is he riding a
glorified scooter? Ghost Rider's jacket has been changed as well, and it has no
personality. Neveldine and Taylor have also allowed the movie to be silly, for
lack of a better term. The scene in which Blaze is trying to keep the Ghost
Rider at bay, but the skull is coming through his face is presumably going for
an

Evil Dead II
feel, but it just feels stupid. They also make the mistake of having Ghost Rider
mimic some of Cage's Elvis-like mannerisms...which left me stymied. And then we
have the not one, but two moments where the Ghost Rider pees fire. Seriously? A
good musical score blends into the background, but the atonal and mis-timed
score here can't be ignored.

The question must be asked, "Who thought any of this was a good idea?" Ghost
Rider is such a visually interesting character that they could have simply
showed 20 minutes of footage of him and it would have been better than this
movie. I can't remember the last time I saw such a mis-guided studio film. The
movie more than deserves the scathing reviews it received upon its theatrical
run and many weren't scathing enough. This would be considered an awful film
under any circumstances, but given the quality films under the Marvel banner,
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance almost looks like something which was
poorly made on purpose.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance probably ruined the chance of me seeing
a Dan Ketch movie on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD
transfer which runs at an average of 22 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear,
showing no overt grain and no defects from the source materials. The colors look
very good, although the palette leans towards dark and earth tones. The image is
never overly dark or bright. The picture offers a notable amount of depth, even
in the 2-D version, and the actors are nicely separated from the background. The
level of detail is good as well, as we can see textures on objects. The Disc
carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of
2.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The action scenes
provide great surround sound effects which are nicely detailed. We can pick out
the individual sounds from gunshots and tire squeals. The low rumbling of the
motorcycle comes through the subwoofer, accompanied by explosions. The stereo
effects are nicely done as well, as objects move from side-to-side.

The Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Blu-ray Disc contains a few
extras. "Directors' Expanded Video Commentary" offers comments from Neveldine
and Taylor, whom we occasionally see, as well as picture-in-picture
behind-the-scenes footage. The Disc contains six DELETED SCENES which run about
11 minutes. The bulk of this is taken up by a scene in which we see the devil
rent a car. What fun. Otherwise, there's nothing new here. "The Path to
Vengeance: Making Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is a six-part,
feature-length making of which runs for 89 minutes. This gives us a very broad
look at the film's origins, the production, the special effects, and the release
(which, of course, includes Comicon footage). We get a wealth of interviews with
the cast and filmmakers, as well as a ton of on-set footage. Over and over, they
reinforce that this isn't a sequel, but a reboot. The 3-D Blu-ray Disc contains
an extra entitled "Riding Into Another Dimension" (7 minutes) which explores the
use of 3-D photography in the film, and how the shooting style played into this.